Those that know him for his long and distinguished career at the Greater Dickson Gas Authority know that Robert Durham is a man of detail. That’s apparent when you ask him about a day from his youth back in the mid-1950’s when he met someone who would change his life for the better – his wife, Linda Durham.

At the time, though, she was Linda Craig.

“The first time I remember seeing her, their dad was speaking at Fairview Baptist Church. There were slatted wooden benches, and I was sitting in the back of the Church, and she had on a yellow dress with a bow in the back. She was sitting on the end of the bench, and had a swing on her legs. She caught my eye,” Durham recalls of the first time he laid eyes on Linda.

They were both kids, about 10 years old, and a friendship developed. Then as the two matured, a relationship, culminating in a marriage in September 1965.

The couple remained together over 52 years, with Linda passing away on April 29 after a brief battle with cancer.

It seems that Linda Durham – while choosing to be a homemaker and a mother – made quite a deep impact on the world. She did take bookkeeping and accounting classes as she grew older, became a substitute teacher in the Dickson County school system, and upon becoming a grandmother of a child with autism, she earned a certification as an autism therapist at the age of 60.

But, there’s one spot that Linda Durham carved out for herself that stands perhaps the tallest in her family’s memory – her serving as pianist for Mt. Sinai Baptist Church for nearly 60 years. It’s a recollection that makes Mary Miller, one of four daughters the couple had, smile on today.

“When I was little, I was a ‘Mama’s Girl,” Miller recalled for the Herald. “She’d have to play the piano with me wrapped around her. Of course, I was too young to remember that personally, but she would tell me that a lot.” Her father remembers, however. “I would keep the two girls in their seat, but a lot of times Mary would go with her,” Robert said fondly. “I think a couple of our other girls did, but she was the first one to do that.”

Dr. Robbie Faulkner, the Durham’s oldest child, recalls that her mom had a very special style of playing that served her well.

“I remember that Mom could play anything. Sometimes, she might have to say ‘Give me a second.’ She’d look at it, play a note or two, and she’d have it. One time, someone played at our church, and I just thought it was awful. It was terrible. I asked her why she played like that. She said ‘She plays what’s on there. I add notes.’ Adding notes makes a difference sometimes, I know it did with her. It sounded different than anyone else.”

The passing of Linda Durham has definitely left a void in the community – as well as at Mt. Sinai. Those songs that she loved playing so, such as “O Happy Day” and “I Would Not Be Denied“ definitely have a little less flavor without her style of piano playing.

Robert – who also serves as a deacon at the Church – knows that at one point, someone else will be sitting in that spot. “We haven’t found anyone yet,” he says gently. “We’re still looking.”

Her younger brother, Donnie Craig, who also serves as Pastor at Mt. Sinai, says that his sibling’s nurturing soul that her daughters speak of was something she came into early.

“At her funeral, I said that from the time I was born, she took it upon herself to be my second mother. She took care of me until the day she died. There’s a hole there for sure. I can already see the difference without her here.”

Robert and Linda had four daughters in all: Faulkner and Miller and Dorinda Crabtree, and Laurel Powell.